


Man of the House

by aurilly



Category: Heroes (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-05-21
Updated: 2009-05-21
Packaged: 2017-10-02 19:08:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aurilly/pseuds/aurilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An exploration of how Lyle and the rest of the Bennets got from the events of Company Man into what we found out about them in Five Years Gone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Man of the House

"Lyle, have you seen Mr. Muggles's bath?"

The dog had a bath only yesterday, but Lyle's not about to cross his mother---not about this, not now. "In the TV room!" he calls from his perch on the island in the kitchen.

It's been three days since Noah last checked in, and Sandra's going crazy. Sitting in their rental house, there is little Lyle can do to comfort her except to quietly do his homework and let her fuss endlessly about the dog. But he still looks worriedly over at her from time, unable to fully concentrate on the proof that two sides of an isosceles triangle are of equal length. What's the point, he thinks, when at any moment they'll have to go on the lam, and school will be forgotten?

Lyle knows he shouldn't find the prospect exciting, but a small part of him does. It's his mom he worries about, though. Lyle can handle a life on the run; he doesn't think she'd like it at all.

They'd learned a lot of things that first day in the rental house, before that hot girl in the short skirt had come to take dad on an business trip to New York: why mom's memory has always been so bad; how Claire had survived not only being shot right in front of them, but also the blast that destroyed their house; that dad is, and always has been, a secret agent for an evil company; that there are superheroes in the world; that there is a serial killer on the loose who killed Jackie Wilcox; that Lyle had _known_, about _everything_, but that his own father had ordered his memory erased.

That's what hurts the most---more than the lies. Lyle can keep a secret. He's never told a single thing that any of his friends has ever told him in confidence. He always holds his tongue; he even protected Claire that time she accidentally gave Mr. Muggles food poisoning, suggesting to their mom that maybe he just got dysentery (do dogs even _get_ dysentery?). He's always kept all of Claire's secrets, even when she was being a bitch to him. Lyle doesn't know what reason his dad has not to trust him, and it eats away at him.

He wonders how he'd found out. Had be sleuthed it out like a detective? Had he tested his theory first? Did Claire just confess it to him one day out of sisterly trust?

But now with Claire mysteriously gone, there is no one to tell him. There's no one even to tell him _where_ she went.

As the days pass and his mom continues to freak out, Lyle develops an unforgiving knot of pain in his gut, born of anger.

It isn't long, though, until they have something else to freak out about, too. Only this time the entire world is freaking out with them.

***********************************************************************

It's like 9/11 all over again, except a lot worse. Lyle had been in the fourth grade when New York was attacked that first time. He'd been at school, and was super excited when it seemed like the teachers were interrupting classes to watch a much better version of Die Hard. _Awesome_, he'd thought. And then, not at all, when he'd found out what was going on.

This time, he gets it immediately. All too well. For once, though, he realizes that he knows something before most of the world. Everyone is shocked by the idea of people with superpowers, but Lyle's known for days, _months_ really, if you count the memory-wipe. The new senator New York just elected tells everyone all about it on the news. Lyle thinks it's suspicious for this random senator to know so much. _How_ did he know exactly who the exploding man was? _He_ wasn't there. Anyway, this dude gets a lot of press, just like Giuliani did back in 2001, except that Lyle can't understand why. It's not like he's ever done anything; he isn't even a senator yet.

School is closed for the rest of the week. It's like Lyle's prediction of not going to school because they're on the lam has come true, except they never even leave the house. Lyle's mom wanders between the bedroom and the kitchen, now completely quiet, her nerves unable to take any more. Lyle takes up all of the chores, letting her rest.

They still haven't heard from Claire or Noah.

The day after the explosion, that weird Zach kid, Claire's on-again off-again friend, stops by.

"Hi, Mrs. Bennet." Zach shifts nervously from one foot to the other, and his greeting is barely heard over Mr. Muggles's protective yips. "Hey, Lyle," he adds.

"How are you, Zach?" Sandra asks distractedly, picking up the dog and shushing it lovingly. Lyle simply waves. "You didn't… you didn't have any family in New York, did you?" she continues, assuming, as is only natural, that this is a courtesy world tragedy call.

"No. We're all fine. But… that's…" Zach trails off, looking around suspiciously. Lyle wonders what the hell is the matter with him. He's been over loads of times before, acting like he owns the place, and treating Lyle like some squirt kid, even though it's _Lyle's_ house, not Zach's.

Zach clears his throat. Still looking shifty, he says, "My, uh, my mom was wondering about some flowers you have in your backyard. The ones all the way at the end. Can you show me them? Like, outside?"

It's completely lame and bizarre.

Sandra just stares at him, in the dopey, uncomprehending way she sometimes does when things get really weird. Lyle used to be a little bit embarrassed about that look. He'd once had to beat someone up for saying his mom was stupid (or at least, he'd _tried_ to beat him up, even though he ended up getting the worst of it). Little did he or anyone know back then that his mom _wasn't_ stupid. It's just that her husband had turned her brain into swiss cheese.

The angry knot in his stomach returns as he thinks about this.

"Flowers?" she asks, totally lost.

And then, suddenly, Lyle remembers all those whispered conversations Claire and Zach had recently been having all around the house, the way his dad had been so pissed that one day Claire played hooky from school, blaming Zach for encouraging her… Zach _knows_. It hurts all over again. This random kid had known, but _he_ hadn't? However, Lyle reminds himself that he's the man of the house now, and that he shouldn't be a jealous baby. It's time to grow up. So, he winks meaningfully at Zach, who sighs with relief at being understood, and says, "Come on, mom. Let's show him. Muggles needs a walk anyway."

As soon as they reach the farthest corner of the yard, Zach stops looking so nervous. "Sorry about that. I wanted to ask if you've heard from Claire, but I didn't know if your house is bugged."

Sandra, recovered from her momentary lapse, stares at him hard. "Why would our house be bugged?" she asks suspiciously.

Lyle tugs on her sleeves, holding Zach's gaze as they nod at one another. "He knows, mom. He knows about Claire and about dad and about everything. Right?"

"Yeah. Figured after everything that's happened, you guys must know now, too. So… have you heard from her? Is she okay? I mean, I know the whole point is that she's _always_ okay, but…"

Sandra's eyes started to get misty. "No, nothing. Nothing from my husband, either. But on the news, they're saying it was a man named Sylar… who I think Noah told me…"

Zach grimaces at the name of Jackie's killer. "Yeah. At least that's one less thing to worry about, right?"

Sandra grabs Zach's hand, the confused spell passed and the perfect mom once again. Lyle grins, relieved to see her back to normal again. "Thank you for coming to visit, Zach. Can I… do you want some lemonade? Have a seat," she says, pointing at the patio furniture.

"Uh, sure. Thanks."

And so it's Zach, of all people, who fills them in on everything no one's had a chance to tell them and on everything they've been made to forget. He fills them in on stuff that even Lyle's dad probably doesn't know about, like Claire's trashy bio-mom and her asshat bio-dad, whoever he is. And when Zach tells Lyle that he'd found out about Claire by using a stapler on her, all three of them crack up. It's the first time they've laughed in over a week.

When Zach says he's been wiped, too, Lyle stops feeling so jealous. Maybe Zach isn't so bad, after all.

***********************************************************************

A few days after Zach's visit, they get a text message telling them to pack up the essentials and get on a plane to Los Angeles. Dad's going to meet them there. Lyle wonders if maybe his dad is doing that whole 'buy a cell phone, send a text, and then throw the cell phone away so the number couldn't be traced' thing. Like in the movies. At any rate, Lyle was right: they're on the lam.

It's Lyle's idea to make the rounds quickly and say goodbye to people before they leave. It makes their leaving look less suspicious that way. Plus, it's an excuse for Lyle to get to say goodbye to his friends. Now that it's actually happening, being on the run isn't that great, especially when he personally hasn't done anything worth running for.

When they reach the address from the text message, Lyle is confused. His mother has never worked, and as far as he knows, his dad no longer has a job. How are they supposed to afford this mansion? Lyle's never had to think much about money before, but in the past couple of weeks, he's found himself thinking about a lot of things he'd never thought much about before.

The house is empty when they arrive, and Lyle breaks in through the back window. It's thrilling, in a way, but he hopes that his dad was right and that this really _is_ their new house. It's late, but they're all wound up and spend a few hours exploring and unpacking the couple of suitcases they've brought. Mr. Muggles surveys the landscape---_probably looking for places to hide_, Lyle thinks.

He and his mom wait up for hours, wondering if and when Claire and Noah are coming, neither one wanting to actually say out loud that maybe something happened, that maybe now they're on their own. Lyle tries to calm himself down, and just before finally falling asleep next to his mother on the carpet in an unfurnished bedroom, he shrugs. It's always felt like they were two families living under one roof---one consisting of Claire and their father, and the other consisting of Lyle, Mom, and Muggles. Now it simply feels official.

But Claire _does_ arrive in the morning, looking like hell. She says she's taken trains and buses, trying to avoid having anyone have to look at her license, just in case, all the way from New York City. So _that's_ where she's been. She sits Lyle and their mother down and fills them in on everything she's been up to. It turns out that asshat senator from the news is her asshat bio-dad. Lyle would never have seen _that_ coming, but it fits, somehow.

Noah comes a few hours later, saying he had to take a longer route to evade… something. Lyle isn't sure and his dad isn't particularly forthcoming. He never is. Sandra clucks over him, happy and hugging, but Lyle can tell that something's different. It's subtle, but Lyle can tell that some of the magic is gone. He catches Claire's eye and knows that she sees it, too. A guy can't just leave his wife like that for two weeks and expect everything to stay hunky-dory.

It's nice to have his dad back, Lyle supposes, but he kind of misses being the man of the house.

Lyle and Claire are given the job of looking through a catalog of rental furniture to pick what to outfit the house with, but they rush through it so that they can fill one another in on what's been going on. Lyle feels better when Claire tells him _everything_, even about how that guy she was acting all girly about a few weeks ago turned out to be her uncle. She doesn't tell him to shut up, not once, and Lyle realizes that out of all this, he's gotten his sister back---the nice one who disappeared a couple of years ago to become a bitch. _That's_ something, at least.

Downstairs, Sandra and Noah are having it out, and they've never heard their mom use this tone of voice---suspicious and tired and unbelieving.

"What's going to happen, Noah? How can we really keep this up? I've been Sandra Bennet for almost 20 years. I can't just start answering to Sandra Butler. They're looking for Claire. What if---"

Lyle hears his father shut her up. "It'll work, Sandra. Trust me, it'll work."

***********************************************************************

It doesn't work. They move six times in the first year and Lyle's all but given up on going to school anymore. Two of the times are because Claire is too accident-prone to keep her powers under wraps and people call Homeland Security. Another time is simply because Lyle's dad gets paranoid out of the blue one day and says they have to leave, just to be on the safe side. One time is because someone from Homeland Security knocks on the door, asking to see Lyle's parents and sister. He lies and says they're on a mini-break. He calls his mom and uses the secret password he made up the last time they moved. The one where if he says, "Take the surface roads, because there's traffic," it means that the cops have come for Claire and to stay away. Dad only grunts when they're finally on the move again, not acknowledging Lyle's brilliance.

But the sixth time is because of dad.

It starts when Lyle goes down to the basement one evening to get a new box of Cheerios and finds a man and a woman sleeping, curled up in a dark corner. _Prowlers. Just what I need,_ he thinks.

He reaches to pick up a baseball bat that's near him, but he trips and goes flying. That wakes them up, sure enough, and they start screaming at him and at one another in Spanish. Faintly, Lyle can hear Claire and his mom calling from upstairs, asking if he's alright. He's about to shout that yes he is, when all of a sudden, he _isn't_. There's a horrible choking feeling, and the world goes black, and it feels like his insides are turning into goop.

"Heh!" he cries, trying to shout 'help' but finding himself unable to get the whole word out.

Just before his hearing goes out, he thinks he hears the guy singing. _Singing_, of all things, and of all times.

But then slowly, he feels better, well enough to stand up. Sandra's lying sprawled on the steps. She must have fallen coming down to see what was wrong. There's a clatter of heels as Claire rushes down the stairs to help her to her feet. Looking around him, Lyle sees the two strangers holding hands and singing, and their eyes are completely black, like the demons in _Supernatural_.

Once they've finished their demon ritual, everyone just looks at one another. It's awkward. Lyle's distracted by the woman's _amazing_ cleavage. The girl demons on Supernatural are pretty hot, though, so it's no surprise. He's still paralyzed, trying to remember what in the house could possibly kill a demon and how much crazier his life can possibly get, when the hot one starts speaking in broken English.

Drat. It quickly becomes clear that she isn't a demon at all. She's just a special, like Claire and like the people who blew up their house and like the people that have been all over the news recently.

Lyle wonders what kind of world it's become when specials in the basement who can kill you with their tears are anything less that really cool.

"I told you not to go down to the basement!" Noah roars when the family confronts him upon his return home. _Typical,_ Lyle thinks, and only then does it occur to him that he kind of hates his dad. He doesn't know if this is his fault---if it's the onset of 'the terrible teens' he's heard about---or if this is a special case and his dad's just a bastard.

"You said not to go down there because there were rats, not because you're _hiding people!_" Sandra screams back at him. _Ok,_ Lyle thinks. _It isn't me._

"I told you all to keep out of there for your own good, so that you wouldn't find out. You should have listened, Lyle."

"Wouldn't it be more for our own good if, you know, there just weren't people hiding in the basement?" Lyle has never talked back to his father before, but then again, neither has his mom. It's an evening of firsts, all around.

The South American strangers are sitting in the corner, drinking tea that Claire reluctantly made for them once it became clear that they really weren't actively trying to kill or rob them, that they'd been put in the basement by Noah.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Lyle," dad says coldly. It's better than 'shut up' but still the same sentiment.

"He's right, dad," Claire retorts.

Sandra joining in finishes the trifecta of people ganging up on him. "I thought you were trying to protect Claire, to protect this family. How is helping strangers part of that?"

Noah takes his glasses off and rubs them. Lyle's learned that he does this so that he can avoid looking anyone in the eye. Lyle's learned that sometimes his father is wrong. "It's something I needed to do. Would you rather I let these innocent people die?"

"I'd rather that you find another way to do it. I'd rather not come down the stairs to see my son practically dying. I thought Claire was the one we needed to protect, and now I've got Lyle in danger, too. I can't put up with much more of this."

Noah looks hard at his wife, and doesn't even have decency to look frightened, Lyle sees. "What do you mean?"

"I think you know what I mean," she threatens.

"This is important to me, Sandra."

"And what about me? What about Lyle? Are we not important?"

Noah pulls her into the next room, and Lyle and Claire are left alone with the strangers and the knowledge that their family is falling apart.

"More tea?" Claire offers.

***********************************************************************

Later that night, Claire sneaks into Lyle's room.

"Hey," she says, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"What time is it?" he asks groggily, even though he hadn't actually been sleeping.

"I dunno. Look, Lyle. I'm going to leave."

"What?" Lyle sits up and tries to turn on the light, but Claire's hand stops him.

"Shhhh. Don't want to wake them up. Look, I'm not going to leave today. Maybe not even tomorrow---"

"But soon, and for the rest of your life?" Lyle finishes. It's hardly a time for joking or quoting, but Claire started it.

There's a pause before she mirthlessly replies, "Yeah. It's the only way that you and mom can be safe. I'm just dragging you guys into my drama. It's better if I'm on my own."

Lyle notices that she doesn't mention their dad.

"Where are you going to go?" he asks.

"Everyone's looking for Claire Bennet, who ran away from Odessa, Texas. I'm going to the one place they'll never think to look for me."

He understands what she means. She's going back home, and Lyle's jealous. "I won't tell anyone," he asserts.

"I know," she says. "The thing is, I think you and mom should leave, too."

"And go where? Mom doesn't have any money. She doesn't even have a job. We're stuck here… with _him_. And whatever random people he brings in the house."

"I don't know. You'll think of something, Lyle. Right?" she pleads.

Lyle gulps. It's the first responsibility anyone's ever given him. Part of him wishes it weren't quite so big.

"Right. I'll think of something. I'll miss you, Claire."

"I'll miss you, too, Lyle."

***********************************************************************

Two days later, Claire is gone, and Lyle's parents completely lose it. The note Claire leaves is sad and mean all at the same time.

_I'm leaving because it isn't safe with me here. I'm leaving because I'm tired of putting mom and Lyle in danger. Please don't worry about me, mom. And please don't come after me, dad. And stop trying to recreate the underground railroad in our basement. Love, Claire"_

Of course, dad doesn't even get it, doesn't get that she left because of _him_. The fights in the house only get worse, and, as if in defiance of his life falling apart, Noah brings another special into the house to hide.

Lyle still hasn't thought of a plan, and it's killing him inside that he's letting Claire and his mom down. He's taken to going out for walks, just to get away from the yelling. He's listening to his ipod when one of the earpieces comes out, and he hears a voice whisper in his ear. "Lyle."

Lyle jumps a mile. He looks around him, but there's no one there. And that's when he realizes: he cracking up. The stress has become too much and he's officially going crazy.

_Ignore the voices_, Lyle thinks to himself, fighting as hard as he can to hold onto his sanity. But then it happens again. "Lyle."

"I'm hearing things," he whispers to himself, and immediately regrets it. Talking to himself is bad---not as bad as hearing voices, but hell, he's already there, too.

"Well, you certainly aren't _seeing_ them," the voice chuckles in reply.

Gah.

But then something clicks. Why would the voice in his head sound like that? All gravelly and British and grumpy. Like Uncle Claude, who wasn't really his uncle, and who had stopped coming to the house years ago. Were crazy voices really _that_ random---or _not_ random? Lyle had asked once what happened to Claude---he missed the candies and the accent---but dad had ignored him, and Lyle had come away with the feeling that he shouldn't ask again. There had been a lot of times in his life when he'd come away with that feeling after talking to his father.

"You aren't going crazy, boy," the voice says, reassuringly.

"That's what a voice would tell me if I _were_ going crazy," Lyle retorts.

The voice sighs bitterly. "You don't know who I am, do you? Shouldn't have expected you to remember me. You were just a wee thing then."

"I know who you are. You're Uncle Claude. But how are you doing this? Are… are you invisible?"

"Not the sharpest tool... Yes, I'm invisible. Now lower your voice. No good being invisible if you alert the entire block to the fact. Mutter under your breath so you don't look quite so crazy."

"Sorry," Lyle says, suddenly walking stiffly. It's one thing having a sister who's Wolverine, but completely another to have a guy from his childhood walking invisibly next to him. "So… er, what brings you here, Uncle Claude? Long time… long time no see."

As soon as the words are out of his mouth, Lyle groans at his own cliché. But Claude must be used to it by now because he doesn't miss a beat.

"I know. But I've been watching you."

If he hadn't known Claude since he was a baby, Lyle would be totally freaked out right now.

"What for?" Lyle whispers.

"You need to leave this place. Go to the post office and use this key." Lyle's hand is forced open by an unseen sweaty palm, and a key materializes in his fingers.

"Woah," he breathes.

Claude chuckles. "Haven't had a chance to do that in awhile," he muses. "There are new passports for you and your mother, and bank information. Enough for you both to live on for as long as you like. And an apartment in London for you."

Lyle thinks. This is the plan he was supposed to have thought of, and yet here is the solution being given to him---coming literally out of thin air.

"What about my dad?" Lyle asks.

"What about him?" is Claude's furious reply. Lyle doesn't have to see his face to know that Claude's trying not to spit. "I'm looking out for you. You and your mother. That's all I care about."

"Why?" Lyle asks.

"You're too young to understand. And she probably… she probably doesn't even remember…" Where most people would trail off dramatically, Claude's inability to finish is more staccato, like he literally _can't_, instead of that he _won't._

Lyle shivers. He can smell icky grown-up stuff that he'd rather not know about a mile away. "I won't tell anyone where all this is coming from."

"That's my boy."

"Have you… have you seen Claire?" Lyle asks.

"Yeah, she's fine. She's taking the long way home. As should you."

Lyle feels the air cool around him, as though Claude has left his side. "Bye…?" he says loudly. People on the street look at him.

There's no answer. But in Lyle's sweaty hand lies the actual key to their escape.

"Thanks!" he shouts, not caring how crazy he looks.


End file.
